The Legacey of Kat Manx 4
by HoldingOnToMyHeart
Summary: The final of the series! You may need to read #2 and maybe #1 to understand this one. Kat Manx has died, and behind her has left a huge legacy. Now it's up to her daughters to choose to carry on this legacy or let it die... Told from Soara's pov. R&R
1. PROLOGUE

**The Legacy of Kat 4**

**Yea, so I decided to start this even though I haven't finished number 3 yet. But that's because number 3 is random and this one doesn't follow on from it. **

**Anyway, this is the final one of the series! Hooray! I'm looking forward to being able to do one-shots and random ones again. **

**Story Summary: The final of the series! You may need to read #2 to understand this one.  
>Kat Manx has died, and behind her has left a huge legacy. Now it's up to her daughters to choose to carry on this legacy or let it die...<br>Told from Soara's pov, Please R&R**

Le Prologue 

It seemed like hours we stood there in the infirmary, watching her sleep, awaiting the test results. She looked so peaceful - like nothing had happened - whereas the feelings of the rest of us were anything but peace.

"Stroke," Felix told us when he finally got back from the lab. "Probably caused by all the radioactive chemicals she's worked with."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Zelda hang her head in grief, her long blonde hair falling forwards. Rachel placed a paw on her shoulder.

"How long does she have left?" Cruger's voice cracked. "Felix, is my wife going to die?"

Felix let out a deep sigh, "Commander... I'm sorry but I don't think she is going to make it through the night. The brain damage was extensive."

"No." Zelda growled. "She won't die. Uncle Felix is wrong. This is not the way Kat Manx goes down. Not my mother."

Suddenly, Kat stirred, and blinked open her eyes.

"Brother..." her voice was strained and weak.

"I'm here!" Felix rushed forward to hold her hand and kneel by her bed. "I'm here."

"Brother... Am I going to die?" Kat rasped.

"Oh, Kat... I..." Felix couldn't even say it, and broke down into tears on her shoulder.

"In that case, there's something that needs to be said." Kat looked up and around the room. "Doggie... Know that I love you so much. From the day I met you... I always loved you... Please promise you'll forgive me. Don't hate me."

"Kat," Doggie growled lowly. "You are my wife. I love you. Nothing will change that, ever."

"And Zelda, Soara, my girls... you are eighteen now, almost nineteen, and old enough to understand..." Kat coughed. "So I shall tell. Doggie... Doggie, Zelda and Soara they are your daughters. You're their father."

"What? How?" Cruger growled, looking at us.

"You fathered them when we were drunk," Kat confessed, a lone tear dripping down her cheek. I looked at Zelda, who was frowning, obviously trying to wrap her head around this idea. "I didn't want to tell you..."

"Shh, Kat it's okay," Cruger pulled her close.

"That's not all." Kat carried on, struggling for breath now. "Mitchell... Mitchell is my son."

Shocked silence, apart from Kat sobbing.

"I gave him over to Felix. He made you believe he was Isinia's but he was always mine. Mine. My baby boy." Kat cried.

"Kat, hush," Cruger rubbed her back up and down. "Kat I love you. Nothing will change that. I'm not angry."

"My daughters," Kat strained to look at us. "Tell me you forgive me too?"

"I forgive you Kat," I was the first to respond, moving forward so I could hug her. "I love you."

"I love you too, Kat. Mum." Zelda whispered, following my actions.

"Mum," I agreed quietly.

Kat sobbed violently; and then... then, she was still.

"NO!" Zelda cried out. "No!" She shook Kat slightly. "Mum! Mum you can't leave us!"

"Leave her," Felix soothed, trying to be calm, even though his face was red and stained with tears. "She rests with her ancestors now."


	2. Chapter 1

**I own nothing except Zelda, Soara, Mitchell and Rachell**

The base suddenly became a morbid and quiet place to be. Thousands of emotions raced through the air every second, and arguments broke out more often than not. Everybody was thinking something different. Though Zelda and I were both determined to carry on doing my mothers jobs, we both coped in separate ways. We both knew there was iT Software to be kept up to date, secure and fully functional, and chemicals to be stored safely and used accordingly. But Zelda was angry at Kat, and it showed in her strong, definite work.

I don't know what I thought – sure Kat had been unjustified in the actions she had taken, but she had done it to protect us from hybrid prejudices, and to protect Crugers reputation.

Mitchell was in utter shock and tried hard to ignore us. Rachel was obviously angry at Cruger and Kat for what they did – dishonouring Isinia that way – but sadly the fury became vented on us.

And Cruger; he was in deep grief for her – so deep her barely did anything but sit and stare into space.

I knew one thing. This atmosphere was eating away at my bond with Zelda and it wrecked the bond between Cruger and Mitchell. Knowing we all belonged in one family made it awkward to work together.

The horrid truth was, Kats' shocking deathbed confession had left us in tatters. The fact commander Cruger was our father thanks to a drunken night at the pub, and that Mitchell was out brother... it was too much to comprehend at times. There was a lot of "how?" and "why?", and the odd "I ask you HOW? And WHY?".

Anyway, it was decided that official DNA tests had to be carried out. I think we were all hoping, that in a moment of dying madness, Kat had lied to us. But when the results came, it proved us wrong, Kat was not lying.

"Well... that's that then." Cruger growled, slipping into one of his trances. Mitchell snorted and glared at us, while Zelda spun around and stomped off. I shuffled on my feet for a while, before finally following after Zelda. Haha, almost nineteen years of age, and still Zelda's introverted shadow. Still the little sister, even if we are twins, still never having stepped out of line.

I entered the lab slowly, and watched Zelda as she cursed Kat repeatedly for the paperwork she'd so graciously left us.

"Anything I can do?" I offered flatly, hating how my sister put all of Kat's work on her own shoulders.

"I need to know what chemicals we own," Zelda snapped back, without even looking up at me. I paused for a moment, wondering if her instructions were likely to get any clearer. She just carried on filing papers.

Assuming the negative, I turned on my heels and walked down to the chemistry lab. The scent in there hit me instantly; it smelt of Kat, of her perfume, and her personal scent. I realised with a wave of sadness, this was where Kat had collapsed, and nobody had been in here since. I froze, taking in the familiar surroundings and suddenly didn't want to go in. It had been left completely undisturbed, as if time had stopped still in this room; cupboards were open, test tubes were still soaking in the now cold water. It was the last part of Kat we could hold on to...

I tiptoed in, hating the creepy emptiness, and went over to one of the chemical cupboards to begin taking notes.

It was then I saw it, out of the corner of my eye, that recluse cupboard, with the huge yellow sign on the door. The cupboard that stored the Radioactive chemicals. These were so unstable that they had to be stored in heat and light proof containers, lined with thick lead. Nobody could handle them without using several inches of metal tong.

These chemicals emitted the rays that had killed Kat.

I slowly made my way over to them, reaching out to it, as if possessed, opening the cupboard door...

"Soara! What are you doing? Get away from there!" An angry voice made me jump, slamming the door shut again. It was Zelda. She ran over to me and shook me by the shoulders before dragging me away from the cupboard.

"What – Zelda...?" I shook my head, confused.

"We can't have them in the lab!" Zelda ordered, her tone changing completely as she pointed towards the cupboard.

"What?" I exclaimed. "How?"

"Oh I don't know Soara, burn them, chuck them out the window, sell them online I really don't care!" Zelda cried.

"If we burned them..." I thought better of being a smart ass. "Zelda we CAN'T! They are a part of our projects, we can't do anything without them! No robots, no technology, no nothing! They are a part of Kat and her legacy, they were her pride and joy – no other lab in the world was authorised to own them!"

"They KILLED Kat, Soara, and I won't have chemicals that can do that to people in this lab!" Zelda spat, her eyes a green fire and her ears were flattened to her head.

"Wrong, Zelda, WRONG!" I knew arguing with Zelda when she was in this mood was a bad idea, but as Kat wasn't here to stop her doing anything stupid, I knew I had to. "The radioactive chemicals didn't kill Kat."

"They damaged her brain and she had a stroke." Zelda's voice was dangerously low. "They killed her. Uncle Felix SAID Soara!"

"It was just her time," I insisted. "I think you're forgetting that Kat was the one who drank our entire supply of mercury, just so that Gruummn didn't get his hands on it when he raided us, and didn't even vomit. She worked with radioactivity for ages! Sure that was a major contribution to her death, but it could've happened ten years ago or ten years from now. It was just her time."

Zelda was baring her teeth in a snarl at me now, and I gulped. Suddenly, she grabbed my throat and rammed me against a wall. "I don't care what sad little philosophy you have in your little head about fate, destiny, and time, but face it, those chemicals killed our mother. So get rid of them!"

I was struggling, my breath coming in short gasps. Me and Zelda had never argued before, and to know she was so angry at me, that she would resort to violence... only someone with a twin could imagine the hurt I was feeling. I was about to call for help when...

"Zelda! Soara!" A male voice panted, and I heard someone running in. Zelda leapt away from me, looking at me in horror, terrified by what she had just done. I gasped for air, feeling light headed. We turned to face our Uncle Felix.

"She's not dead!" I rolled my eyes, about to wisecrack, but Zelda beat me to it.

"Uncle Felix, I know you're always seeing ghosts but I really..." she begun.

"Not _Kat_ silly!" Uncle Felix panted. "Her baby!"


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own SPD and am not associated with it... blah blah blah. **

"A... baby?" I whispered, shocked.

"But that's impossible," Zelda said. "Kat wasn't pregnant. "

"On the contrary, Kat was indeed with child when she died," Felix argued. "Lat I checked, foetuses don't appear out of nowhere..." Silence.

"Do you suppose she knew?" I asked; the idea that she could have died without even knowing was saddening.

"The baby girl has been removed from Kat, and is now in intensive care; she's perfectly able to survive with the correct medical care, and therefore..." Felix explained. "There's a good chance she knew."

"A girl..." I whispered. "Well why didn't she tell us?" Felix simply looked at me and shrugged. "Why didn't YOU tell us?"

"I felt for certain that she would die. I didn't know how far along Kat was, and obviously it was a high risk procedure," Felix sighed.

"I want to see." Zelda demanded, suddenly. Uncle Felix nodded, and we followed him down into the infirmary. As we entered the room, I tried to block out the high pitched sounds of the monitors, and instead looked around at the pictures on the wall of the nursery.

"Here she is," Felix purred, indicating to a baby incubator. "This is your little sister."

She was just like me and Soara, in that she had no visible hint of Cruger in her at all. Her long limbs and cat-like ears made her appear to be a pure-bred felina. Already she had a head of dark brown hair, and her chest rose and fell rapidly as she slept.

"She is beautiful," I whispered, a single tear of happiness ran down my cheek, and Uncle Felix patted me on the back.

"I would let you hold her, but she's just too small at the moment," Felix explained.

"Another sister," Zelda chuckled. "Hello little one." She paused. "What happens now? She doesn't have a mother..."

"Well that, as Kat's legal next of kin, is entirely up to you," Felix said. "This baby is stable and is going to survive. You're right, she has no mother, but she does have two sisters and a father. And an uncle, not to mention a brother - and a half sister." I flinched at the way Felix made us all sound like family. "Who knows? Maybe this tiny little baby could be the key to bringing the family back together." Zelda visibly grew tense, and Felix hastily added: "But failing that there's always the option of adoption, or, on or off-base foster care."

Me and Zelda looked at each other. She was clearly unsure.

"Would you like me to step outside the room, girls?" Felix offered. I gave him a quick nod.

For a few minutes, neither myself, nor Zelda, said a thing.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, at last.

"It just doesn't seem fair, Soara," Zelda sighed. "Bringing her up in a place where she'll have no mother to look after her."

"She'll have us," I pointed out. "Like Felix said."

"But that's part of my worry too," Zelda confided. "We're all fighting one another. Cruger's depressed, Mitchell's acting all strange and Rachel hates us. Felix said maybe she will pull this 'family' together but I fear that's too much of an idealistic view. I think if anything it will tear us apart further. It may end up just being me and you, Soara, acting as her mother. And are we ready to have someone else depending on us, when up until a week or so ago, we were still dependent on Kat? Can we really teach our sister the ways of the world, just as well as Kat did for us? Will she grow up not wishing life was any different?" I admit, I could not answer that. Zelda continued: "And we've got out jobs to take care of. We have to look after the labs, we have all of Kat's workload now, plus our own. Will we have the TIME?"

"Kat managed and there were four of us." I argued. "The fact is, this is our sister. We can't just give up on her. We have to do all we can." Zelda sighed. "Soon, Cruger will appoint a new member of staff to help us in the labs. He has to. We will have less work then."

"Cruger," Zelda muttered. "We can't make a decision without him

Cruger approached the incubator cautiously. He looked positively stunned at what he saw there.

"Did you not know she was pregnant?" Zelda asked, quietly.

Cruger growled, and eventually, after a few minutes of thinking, he confessed, "Yes. Yes, I did."

There was a confused silence for a few moments before Cruger went on.

"We'd been trying for a baby for a while. A couple of years to be exact. Four full IVF cycles, and nothing. Felix blamed it on the fact she'd had so many children in the past. She had children on her home planet, and you two. All the doctors said her time for child bearing was over. We didn't want people to know... Kat felt ashamed, and it was upsetting for us both." Cruger explained. "Then one morning she... she's in the bathroom when I wake up, and she tells me she's pregnant." A light of love and happiness passed through his eyes. "We decided to keep it a secret for a few months in case there were any complications. And we were worried what people would think, creating a hybrid... Of course that was before Kat told me about you girls. And then she died..." I was shocked when the commander begun to cry. "... I assumed the baby would have died with her. I gave up, I had no idea..." We fell into silence. "She's perfect. Felix, I cannot thank you enough."

"She's my niece," Felix murmured. "And I know how much Kat wanted her." Yet more silence. "You know, she still needs a name."

We all looked at each other, I believe, thinking the same thing.

"There's only one name we could possibly give her," Zelda whispered eventually.

Cruger growled, approvingly, "Yes. Welcome to SPD, Little Katherine."


	4. Chapter 3

**NOTE: This is the point at which some knowledge of TLOK 1 would be helpful. It doesn't matter if you haven't read it, but you may be a bit confused by all the OCs I'm about to introduce.  
>I'm not associated with PR SPD. <strong>

**OH and yea! I have a request! I'm working on this story at the moment, without having finished the third... and the reason for this is, I haven't got any ideas . TLOK 3 is basically a series of oneshots about Zelda and Soara's childhood from Zelda's perspective, and I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING! So if you could inbox me or review with ideas of what I could do it would be much appreciated :D I will of course, give credit for various ideas. ANYWAY, on with the story...**

I stood there alone, staring into the incubator, contemplating life. It had been a couple of days since our Uncles shocking revelation, and now our lives had changed forever. As far as the radioactive chemicals we had in our labs, Zelda's attitude had not changed, and so with a heavy heart I had paid for a professional to come and take them away. Well, that's what she thought. I was actually paying for professional storage, adamant that at some point, Zelda would change her mind. As far as Little Katherine went, she was to stay on at SPD Earth Station to be raised by the family. We had no idea how it was going to work, but we would find a way.

"Soara," I felt my uncle's hand on my shoulder. "I need to talk to you."

I twitched my ear slightly to indicate that I was listening.

"Now that a decision has been made about Little Katherine, don't you think it's time we started to think about burying Kat?" Felix asked, in his low and soothing voice.

"Burying?" I echoed the word. I'd never really thought about it. I don't think anyone had. We'd been too busy stressing over DNA tests and past lies. How selfish we had been. "I guess. She deserves that at least."

"Indeed." For a moment, neither of us spoke. "I was also wondering if you might accompany me somewhere. Into the forest?"

"The forest? Why?" Now this I could not quite wrap my head around.

"I have a confession." Felix begun. "Your mother and I always said we were the last of our kind. For a long while we believed this to be true. But a while ago, it came to our attention that a whole group of our species are in fact, very much alive, and living in the depths of Arbordale Forests."

"Doesn't that particular area have some law on it, so that nobody can go there?" I queried.

"Yes, and maybe it's just as well. There's also laws about endangered species of alien, and how they cannot be moved from the place they have chosen to settle. Therefore the tribe were not evicted, regardless of the status of those forests. Because of the laws you mentioned, nobody has been able to go on that forest to disturb them either," Felix mewed.

I was too shocked to react in a big way, but two questions sprung to my mind, "How did you find out? Did Kat know?"

"It showed up on some scans that Kat herself ran," Felix managed to answer both my questions in one sentence.

"So now you want to go and see them. How comes you never went before?" I was curious, despite myself.

"Kat wasn't keen to disturb their lifestyle by reintroducing herself. She knew that the new, modern her, would not be able to fit in, and she didn't want to contaminate their traditions with modern ways. She also was not keen on crossing her old life and her new one. I'm sure she told you, her life on Felle was not pleasant." Felix explained. I nodded. She had told me. "I never went by myself because... Well the timing just never seemed right. But now I... I've lost my sister and I feel the forest calling to me again. You don't have to come, but you might enjoy it."

I thought for a few seconds, "Do I have relatives out there?"

Felix held his hands up, "Nobody knows exactly who survived the Troobian attacks. But the tribe is about twenty strong by the look of the scan so, I'd say there's a good chance you may be related to at least one of them."

"Who COULD be there?"

"I genuinely cannot comment," Felix was looking edgy now.

"Why me?" I changed the topic of questions. "Why not Zelda?"

"Zelda is just like your mother. She has exactly the same personality. She is modern and she enjoys her lifestyle here. I feel you will probably be more open to it than she would be."

"Alright I'll come," I gave in. Felix looked relieved. "But you'll have to fill me in on the stuff I need to know okay?"

He did. During the car journey he told me all about what Felle had been like, the structure of the clan, and his and Kat's family. He told me even more than Kat had about it, and that is saying something. We passed through the city, into the outskirts of Newtech, and eventually into the countryside. He parked outside the gates of the forest, and got out of the car.

"I suppose you have the access code," I assumed, spying a gate with a passcode on it.

Felix grinned at me. "Nope!" I blinked, and in doing so, managed to miss the part where he hopped the fence. "Well come on then!" He called from the other side. "What are you waiting for?"

I had no choice but to follow, and we trudged up the forest footpath in silence.

Suddenly, without warning, the footpath ended and pure dense forest laid before me. I stopped abruptly, and expected Felix to do the same. But apparently a foot or two of shrubbery didn't bother my uncle; I put this down to him having lived on Felle, where, I had been told, the biome was dense rainforest. I hesitated a second or two before following him.

"Wait for-" my soft call was interrupted by a cold, harsh voice splitting the air.

"Who goes there?" It spat. My uncle stiffened and drew close to me. I looked around wildly, unable to work out where the voice had come from.

Then, suddenly, a tall woman jumped from the trees, and stood before us. She was taller than both Kat and Felix, and her long black hair flowed over her shoulders. Ice blue eyes met mine for a brief second, and although anger burned there, I could also see pain and weariness etched across her bony, chalk White face. Rags hung loosely from her body and she shivered slightly from the breeze. In her left hand she clutched a bow and a bag of arrows was slung over her shoulder.

"Xena?" Felix gasped. I looked back at this woman in awe. This was the Xena I had heard so many times about. The fearless leader of my mother and uncles clan. Their half sister. My aunt.

"Felix?" Xena sounded suspicious. "It can't be. You are without your sister. You were never without Katherine on Felle."

For a moment, Felix looked panicked. Then he relaxed as he remembered something, "Xena, sister. I can promise you it is me." He unzipped his coat, and pulled up his shirt, revealing dark tribal tattoos. "I have the markings to prove it." Xena relaxed instantly; Felix bowed his head and spoke briefly in a foreign language.

Xena nodded and replied in English, "I will take you... So where is my big sister?"

I looked warily at Felix but he replied with confidence, "Actually, it's partially Kat that I've come about. But I'd rather say what I have to say once only, and that means I will say it before the whole tribe." Xena looked visibly put out, so Felix changed the subject rather quickly, "I am not here alone. Xena this is Soara, Kat's daughter."

Xena's attention instantly switched to me. She studied me closely, "Yes, I can tell. You look like my sister. You have her face, and her hair."

"Mine is longer, and the curls are looser," I stated.

Xena appeared not to have heard me, "Come, follow me back to camp." In an instant she had shot off into the depths of the forest, Felix hot on her heels. I sighed, and began to run once again.

**[A/N] As I said on TLOK 1, I did base Xena on Xena: Warrior Princess... As a little disclaimer, I'm not associated with that in any way either. **


	5. Chapter 4

**[A/N] Yea so like I said in the previous chapter, If you haven't read TLOK 1, then you may be a bit confused by all the OCs coming up in this chapter.  
>I don't own PR SPD or anything, but all the OCs are mine.<strong>

When Xena finally came to a halt, I was dissappointed. I had, surprised to say, been enjoying that run. I'd found that, after a while, my body adapted to it and I knew what to do instinctively. It was quite easy, leaping over logs and swinging from branches, diving under log bridges.

Anyway, now, me and Felix were standing beside her, and overlooking a dusty clearing. Around the edge of this clearing, many small huts stood, built of wood and grasses, and fabrics. I watched, entranced, as several of our species filtered around the camp. Two young children scampered in-between huts, playing, and from somewhere, I heard a baby cry.

Without a single word, Xena leapt from the vantage point, in to the clearing and beckoned for us to follow. We did, with Felix landing gracefully on his feet and me falling onto my knees. I expected everyone to instantly turn and stare, but it was a good few minutes before anyone paid attention.

The first person to notice the intruders was a woman, probably about the same age as Kat. She had short, thinning blonde hair, and her blue eyes were wide and full of shock. Her muzzled mouth hung wide open.

"Felix?" She gasped. Felix blinked once, before the tears begun streaming down his face. The woman broke down and collapsed into Felix's arms, who hushed her. "I never stopped loving you..." she sobbed. "Xena said I had to... accept you were dead but I... I... Oh Felix!"

Felix could say nothing constructive, for he was too caught in tears, but he was able to mutter her name, "Summer. Summer. My Summer." It didn't take much of my brain to figure that this woman - Summer - was my uncles wife.

She suddenly drew away, and called out: "Fire! Bracken!" My heart skipped a beat as two men, perhaps in their mod twenties, appeared. "Come meet your father."

I observed the men - my supposed cousins. They were both of Felix's height, taller than their mother, and lean yet muscular. One had ginger hair, with a sweeping ginger tail, and my uncles Amber eyes, muzzle and tabby markings. The other had long brown hair, tied in a ponytail which trailed down his back, with dark blue eyes and tabby marks - but minus a tail or a muzzle. The ginger approached Felix first.

"Fire." Felix stated, grasping his son by the shoulders.

"Felix... Dad..." Fire responded, hugging him. Bracken looked on, unsure for a while, before joining them.

I sighed and fidgeted on my feet. A bit too much crying for my liking.

"Can't a woman get any sleep around here?" The harsh croak made me swivel round. An elderly, short, thin, frail lady with straggly light-brown-almost-blonde hair and grey eyes was tottering on uneven feet towards us.

Xena rushed towards her, "Sasha what are you doing out here? We told you, you are to stay IN bed if you want to get better."

Sasha... Now where had I heard that name before? I'd instantly known who Xena was, and I was surprised nobody had mentioned Summer or the boys to me, but the name Sasha... I knew it, I just couldn't place it. The name had certainly grabbed the attention of Uncle Felix, although he said nothing.

"Pooh!" Sasha growled. "No chance! Not with Lithe and Leo making me come out to see what all the fuss is over!" was that amusement I could hear in her voice. "So what's occurring?"

Xena said nothing, but looked over to Felix, who had released himself from his sons grasps.

"Sasha," Felix spoke to her. "Mother." Ah, I recalled. That was it. This elder was my grandma.

"Felix! My son..." Sasha sounded totally taken aback. "But I thought you were dead?"

Felix shook his head, "No."

"Sasha has been keeping our sons in check," Summer murmured to Uncle Felix. "I know that you and Kat did not always see eye to eye with your mother, but she has missed you you know, and often tells Xena how she regrets her past actions." Louder she added, "She did well though, teaching Fire and Bracken all there is to know about manners and clan etiquette."

Sasha straightened up. "Speaking of which, Bracken, you know what I always say about formality and introduction. Does Felix know about yours and Jeopardy's kits?"

Felix broke into a loud purr, and looked proudly at his son, who opened his mouth to call to these kits. Xena interrupted: "Look, this is all very well and good, and I'm glad Felix has had the chance to reunite himself with his family. But I want you to give the message to the clan that you came with." There was a hint of faint irritation about her. "May I call a clan meeting now?"

Felix dipped his head to confirm.

In one astonishing leap, Xena bounded up to the highest boulder on the edge of the clearing, and called out in that same foreign language. Before too long, many other tribe members were beginning to gather. This included two other elders - presumably Leo and Lithe, as mentioned before by Sasha. I could also see a strong, brown haired man helping a young-but-weak black haired woman. A white haired man walked besides these two, fussing over the woman, and nearby a lady with auburn hair carried the baby I'd heard crying earlier. Further over, a bright blonde caught my attention, her tail sweeping lightly across the ground. A tabby marked lady, her brown hair streaked with white highlights, called a warning to her two younger twins who were scrambling to get to the front of the crowd. She must have been Jeopardy, Fire's wife, I observed, and those twins must be their kits.

I watched as they all knelt down in a circular shape around the boulder.

Xena allowed a man with brown hair and hazel eyes, tabby markings and a scarred muzzle to climb up beside her.

"That's Xena's husband, Thunder," Felix explained. "As I already explained to you, he helps her run the clan. On Felle they had a son. I don't know if he's still alive, but if he is, he will be the next tribe leader."

Xena was speaking intently in their native tongue. A few excited and surprised murmurs passed through the crowd.

"She's telling them how she thought I was dead, but now I'm here with a message," there was a pause. "Stay here. I must speak now." He scrambled up. It was obvious his muscles were out of practice.

"You would honour me by translating," I heard him tell Xena.

"Of course," she whispered.

"Ok," Felix turned to the crowd. "Wow. Well, urm, I'd like to start by saying how glad I am that the tribe has continued to thrive and grow even after the Troobian attacks. Looking around there are many faces I do not recognise and I see that as a good thing! For those who do not know me, I am Felix. I was the tribes healer on Felle. I suppose you're wondering how I'm still alive? Well, a Sirian rescued me and Kat, my younger sister. His name was Anubis Cruger. He recruited us to his security force: SPD. We fight trouble makers from other planets, well, the power rangers, the... Warriors... We train there do. I work with medicine and treat their injuries. 19 years ago, we fought the Troobians and defeated them. Earth will not fall like Felle did." There were some triumphant mews as Xena translated this. "Kat was a scientist. She dealt with all the technology, the tracking of the enemy, the data. A few years ago, Kat married Anubis Cruger." I thought I heard someone spit in disgust, but Felix ignored it. "But that is not what I came to tell you. I came to tell you that... About a month ago... Kat died. We felt you all had a right to know. She will be buried during next week, and you are all welcome to attend." Felix was speaking over the loud wails of grief from those who had known Kat. Even those who did not know her hung their heads. In a community as tight as this, I figured, losing a member of ones own species must hit home hard. Once it had died down, Felix continued: "I did not come alone today. I brought with me Kat's daughter, Soara. She is eighteen. Come up Soara, say a few words."

Silence. All eyes were on me. Shit.

"Go on," a voice from behind encouraged me and I felt a nudge.

Feeling pressured I leapt up to the boulder, surprised that I made it in one jump.

"I will translate," Xena purred.

"Erm... Hello. I am Soara, and Kat was my mother. I'm not an only child. My twin sister, Zelda is back at the Earth Station, where we both live and work. And when Kat died she was pregnant, that baby is now in intensive care. We have named her for her mother." I swallowed. I've never been much of a public speaker. "Kat was a good mother and the best scientist, even beyond SPD. Her death has left a great hole in our community..." I blinked and broke off, unable to carry on.

"She has left a great legacy behind her. The legacy of Kat Manx is well known, even beyond our galaxy. We are all in deep grief," Felix took over. "But her legacy lives on. In Soara, Zelda and in Little Katherine, who grows as we speak."

I looked at Felix and smiled, gratefully.

"Well," Felix sighed. "I suppose we'd best be going. Patients to see, labs to run." We both turned to jump down from the boulder.

"Wait!" Someone hissed. I snapped my head up and gazed around the gathering, to see Sasha struggling to her feet. The people around her were trying to keep her sitting down.

"Sasha –" Xena growled, in a calm voice.

Sasha ignored her, "I've believed for many years that my son is dead. Now he turns up, with my granddaughter and I'm expected to just sit here as they go off on the grounds they have 'patients' and 'labs' to run."

"We will come back," Felix reassured her.

"Yes," Sasha continued, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "But how soon? What if you leave it another few years? I want your word that you'll be back at least once for every fourteen times the sun rises. Bring the rest of your family from time to time as well, and always Soara."

Felix sighed, before eventually nodding, "Alright. Alright, fine."


	6. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I'm not associated with PRSPD or its characters or anything...**

**Sorry it's been so long. It would have been longer, but today I have been inspired to update this fanfiction because I just found out that Michelle Langstone (who portrays Kat) mentioned me in an interview! I sent her a letter a few years ago and she never replied, until about a year ago when she emailed me! And now I've found this and I'm buzzing so I thought I would use my positive energy for this. **

**I'm also introducing this thing where on all my new chapters there will be a trivial fact about Kat, just cos I feel like it really. So... **

**FACT: Whether Kat's ranger name is spelt Cat Ranger or a Kat Ranger is actually unknown. What you read on fanfictions or wiki's is the authors personal opinion. **

"Soara!" Zelda looked up at me angrily, the moment I walked in through the lab doors. "Where in the name of arse have you been? Little Katherine opened her eyes for the first time today and you totally missed it!"

I said nothing; I was too deep in thought about the people I'd just met. They were so pure in the way they lived, their lives so simple. I'd loved it out in the forest and now, being back in the base, I strangely felt as though something were missing.

"Hello, earth to Soara!" Zelda growled, waving one hand in front of my face. I looked into her eyes. Anger blazed there in a green fire. Finally, Zelda hissed in resignation and turned away from me.

"Oh by the way," she growled over her shoulder. "We have a visitor, and he's not happy."

"Good afternoon, Miss Manx," a voice twittered. "How good of you to join us at long last."

"Oh, gawd," I hissed under my breath. I knew that voice all too well, and I turned to face Birdie. It's fair to say he was the last person in the universe I had wanted to see.

"Is there a problem, Miss Manx?" Birdie asked, looking down his nose at me, as ever.

"No." I muttered.

"No what?" Birdie snapped.

"No SIR!" I hissed, glaring at him. From the corner of my eyes I could see Zelda looking horrified at my disrespect, and Birdie himself did not look too pleased, but I didn't care. I wasn't in the mood for all this formal rubbish.

In what was probably quite a well timed moment, the doors slid open and the commander walked in.

"Commander Birdie," Cruger looked about as surprised as I was displeased.

"Cruger," he responded airily.

"What is your business here, sir?" Cruger growled. He obviously wasn't in the mood either.

"I heard about your loss," Birdie explained, not exactly sympathetically. "And I have come to pay my respects."

"Oh..." this obviously surprised Cruger. "Well thank you, I-"

But Birdie had not finished, "I also heard about the news."

"News?" Cruger pretended at innocence, but I could tell he was tense. He wasn't fooling anyone.

"Yes," now Birdie turned to me and Zelda. "I heard that these two Miss Manx's have discovered who their father is. And that perhaps, your son is not as legitimate as we all thought."

Zelda stiffened. Out of the corner of my eye, I see she was pale, tense and on the verge of hissing, her ears flattened right back, whereas Cruger just growled, "What's your point, Commander?"

"I approved your marriage to Dr Manx, Cruger, because I cannot turn down two people who obviously want to make a commitment. Married couples working together at SPD breaks no regulations," Birdie sighed. "But when yours and Kat's three... Offspring... Were conceived, you were not married, or even in a relationship. You broke the regulations, Cruger, and some of the most important at that: you were involved in an irresponsible relationship with a colleague."

"I was under the influence," Cruger was getting edgy now.

"Even worse!" Birdie snapped. "This is an offence usually punishable by job loss!"

"So you're going to fire me is that it?" Cruger was beginning to show his teeth.

"Well strictly speaking I am obliged to."

"BIRDIE!" Cruger had truly lost it now. "I don't know if this has occurred to you, but Kat Manx, my wife, is DEAD! Maybe I AM Zelda and Soara's father, maybe she IS the mother of Mitchell! Maybe those three children ARE hybrids and maybe they WERE born out of wedlock. But Birdie, hear me loud and clear: I. Don't. Care. Kat is dead. There's no greater punishment for me than that. There's nothing anyone can do about it anymore."

"Temper, Cruger," Birdie begun to look flustered and he ruffled some of his feathers. "I had not finished. Under normal circumstances if I found out a commander was having irresponsible relationships with his employee, I would be forced to take action. However, I see these are not normal circumstances. Dr Manx is now passed, and as you already said, that's hard enough for you. And you didn't even know about this liaison until recently. So you may keep your job."

"Thanks," Cruger growled, obviously still seething. "You came here to tell me I can be commander. Great."

"Just don't let it happen again," Birdie said.

"Sir, with all due respect, I loved Isinia and lost her. I loved Kat and lost her. I doubt I'll be loving anyone ever again," Cruger growled. "My attention now is for Little Katherine."

"Who will be taking over these labs anyway, Cruger?" Birdie queried, as if he had not heard.

Cruger sighed and shook his head at Birdie's arrogance, and responded, "Zelda and Soara of course. That's what they were born to do."

"Cruger, I don't know if this has occurred to you, but you can not hire staff on the basis of who their mother was," Birdie's tone was low and dangerous. "You must officially advertise the post. Zelda and Soara may apply, but you must assign a new member of staff fairly and professionally."

"But sir," Zelda tried to step in.

"Not a word from you," Birdie silenced her. "I want it done, Cruger, and I want it done quickly." With that, he walked out, leaving myself, Zelda and Cruger, stunned into silence.

_What a rude, foul man,_ I thought to myself. I looked to Cruger, warily. He was staring at the floor, blankly – looking as disgusted as I felt.

He looked at us, the expressions on our faces, and shook his head. He seemed speechless, but managed to growl out one word before marching out: "Sorry."

For a moment there was an awkward silence between myself and my sister.

"Whew, that was close. For a second there I thought Cruger's career was over!" I gasped, breaking the silence.

Zelda simply snorted and marched out of the lab.

Apparently she had not yet forgiven me for my disappearance earlier today

_**X-X-X-X-X**_

Zelda still wasn't talking to me the next morning, when we had breakfast and prepared ourselves for duty. Even into the afternoon she was doing her best to give me the cold shoulder, and worked on different projects to me. Our assistants seemed to sense it, and kept giving me sympathetic glances all day. When my shift was over, I sat and ate my dinner alone.

Later that evening, I walked into the lab, ready to retire to my bed after a long day, and found my sister hunched over some new paperwork. I sighed loudly, and Zelda twitched her ear. That was about the most receptive she'd been all day, so I decided to try my chances.

"Is that an application form?" I asked Zelda, gently. Cruger had, in the end, done as instructed, and advertised for applicants for Kat's old post.

"Of course," Zelda replied. "It's what Kat wanted. It's our duty to apply."

I sighed.

"Wouldn't you agree?" Zelda looked up at me, confused.

"Look, Zelda, I need to tell you where I was yesterday," I grabbed a stool and sat down. Zelda put down her pen, sensing my deep thoughts. "I was with Felix, in the depths of Arbordale Forests. We were visiting some family."

"Soara..." Zelda shook her head. "Felix is grieving. He's imagining things. We have no family outside of here."

"No Zelda!" I insisted. "There's a whole tribe of our kind, about twenty strong. Kat never told us because she didn't want much to do with them, she preferred her new life y'know? But Felix was eager to see them again, and I went with him. Zelda, we have an aunt out there - Xena, who Kat always told us about, she's still alive. And Felix's wife, and their two sons. One of Felix's sons has children too, and our grandma... Zelda there is so many of them."

Zelda thought about this for a moment. Eventually she smiled, "Tell me about them."

I described them all in turn: Xena (I told her that yes, she really was a strong and noble as Kat had said), Summer, Fire, Bracken, and Sasha. I told them how and where they lived, and all about the clan meeting we'd had. I told her it was exactly how Kat had described it.

"Wow..." Zelda breathed. "You sure are lucky." Then she got back to her paperwork.

"Wait... Wouldn't you like to meet them?" I asked. "Should I ask Uncle Felix if you can-"

"Look, Soara," Zelda sighed. "You said Kat didn't want to get to know them again because she liked her life here. She liked it in this modern building, doing her work. She knew she would never fit in with them again... Frankly, I agree with her."

I nodded in acceptance. Felix had said that was what Zelda would say.

"It's just that, visiting them has changed my perspective on things," I explained quietly. "I thought I'd live here all my life, doing lab work, keeping everything modern and working. Maybe later on I'd find a husband and have babies, or maybe I'd get promoted and go off somewhere to some galaxy." Zelda nodded understandingly. "But now... After being there. Well I've come back here and it feels like something's missing. I... I preferred it out there. I don't know if I want to apply."

I don't know what I expected Zelda to say or do. Part of me thought she would explode with anger, and another part of my thought that she would beg me to apply.

"You have to do what's right for you," she whispered eventually. "Kat always wanted us to take over her labs when she was gone. But if applying for it isn't for you, you cannot force yourself down that path. Kat will be proud of you whatever you choose. I'm sure she'd be even more proud of you if she knew you were getting to know our family."

I nodded slowly and whispered, "I'm going back tomorrow, I think. I don't have to wait for Felix to decide he want to go again. Xena made it clear that I am more than welcome at any time." Zelda didn't respond. "But for now... I'm off to bed. It's been a long day."


	7. Chapter 6

**A long chapter to make up for the fact I haven't updated in a while. I was home alone for a whole day, and was on a role! I guess that was all I needed, to get rid of all other stimulation. **

**FACT: Michelle Langstone (Kat), Tandi Wright (Isinia) and Gina Varela (A-Squad Red), all appeared as guests in the Xena Warrior Princess episode "Who's Gurkhan?". They shared screen time with one another, and also with the stars of the show: Lucy Lawless (Xena) and Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle). Small world, eh?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OCs, as always. **

I set off early in the morning the very next day. I didn't have to wait for Felix to want to go, I knew where it was now.

When I got to the forest, I wandered slowly down the path. I decided I wanted to explore a little. There was something about the forest that made me feel very much at one with nature, and I liked that a lot. We'd never really been exposed to much nature before, apart from the plants and creatures Kat or Felix studied, or the grass down at the park and training fields.

I lingered over each tree, feeling the rough bark on my fingers. I stroked the plants – quickly learning which ones would sting and which ones wouldn't. At one point, I stopped to observe a ladybird as it crawled across the path.

Eventually, I came to the river, and decided I might as well relax for a while. I stretched myself out across a large, smooth boulder, and purred at how warm it felt. I peered over the edge to look into the water, and was surprised by how clear the water was running. I gazed at my reflection, and thought. Is it possible that I wasn't who I'd originally thought I was?

My thoughts were interrupted, as I startled at a loud noise. It wasn't a noise I'd ever heard before, but one I knew by instinct. Somewhere, a young child was crying out, in desperation and fear. I leapt to my feet and looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound.

Then I saw her, one of my uncle's sons kits. She had fallen into the river, and was being pulled along by the current.

"Oh my god," I whispered. That river was too deep for a kit – it was too deep even for me. But I knew the basics of swimming, whereas, from the looks of this child, whose head was going under every so often, she did not. I had to do something.

"Over here!" I cried, stretching out one arm towards her as she was rushed past me. She tried to grab me, but missed, and was carried away further by the river. Hissing in panic, I ran down the side of the river, until I came to a log bridge. I laid across it and reached down, grabbing onto her by the collar of her clothes.

"Hold on to me!" I called, clinging to her. I was leaning precariously over the edge myself, and the current was tugging at the young child forcefully. I screwed up my forehead in concentration, as I tried to figure out a way I could pull this kit onto the banks without slipping.

Suddenly, with one mighty pull, the young girl slipped from my grip, "No!" I cried. Without thinking, I launched myself into the river, and begun swimming desperately after her. I couldn't let her go.

Swimming fast, I kept my eye on her. When I reached her, I put my arm round her waist and pulled her head above the surface. To my horror, she was already unconscious. I had to get her out.

But the current was stronger than I anticipated, and with the extra weight of another person, even my long limbs which had previously been finding it easy, struggled to move through the water. It didn't take long for my limbs to tire, and soon I was struggling to keep my own head above the water, let alone hers.

The water was filling my mouth, my nostrils... my vision was blurred... but I felt peaceful. And that was why I allowed my eyes to close, my grip to become looser. The blackness begun to engulf me.

It was over. I would be joining my mother in the next life.

I sighed, and my body went under.

Then, all of a sudden, something yanked me clear from the water. I landed on the banks with a thud, and all the water I'd taken in begun to pour out as I coughed and gasped for breath.

I opened my eyes slightly, and looked up at my rescuer. He was tall and strong looking with brown hair. His dark ears were flattened against his head, and his muzzled mouth sneered slightly. Blue eyes looked down at me, sceptically. Clearly he recognised me, but he was not happy.

"Just, _what_ did you think you were doing?" He growled.

"I was..." then it hit me. "Where is she? Is she okay?" I sat up and looked around, wildly. I saw her tiny body, laying on the ground, and hurried over. She too had expelled all the water from her body, by a mixture of vomiting and coughing, and was now sleeping.

"She'll be fine," my rescuer reassured. "But it was stupid of you to put yourself in danger. You should have sent for one of us straight away."

I frowned up at him, not believing my ears, "She would have drowned. I saved her. The least you can do is show gratitude."

"Gratitude? For what? Making the task twice as difficult by having two people to rescue rather than one," the man growled. "And correction. I saved her. I saved you too."

"I told you, I wouldn't have had time to get you," I retorted. But I couldn't argue with the fact that if he hadn't come along, I would have drowned.

The warrior simply snorted, and said, "Yeah well. Both of you need medical attention, and fast." He stooped down, to pick up the child, and led the way back to camp. I felt weak, but he walked slowly, and I kept pace by his side.

When we got there, Xena had clearly been waiting for us, as well as the parents of the child: Bracken, Uncle Felix's son, and his mate Jeopardy.

"My kit! Oh my precious kit!" Jeopardy wailed, taking her off of my rescuer. She did not cast a glance to either of us, instead choosing to head straight off to the den.

But Bracken nodded to both us, and murmured a word in their language, before following his mate.

After a few moments of silence between myself, Xena and my rescuer, Xena said, "I suppose I had better make sure they're okay. Thank you, to both of you." She then turned and walked away.

My rescuer also begun to walk away, but in the opposite direction. Then I thought of something.

"Wait!" I called after him. He turned around and looked at me. "I didn't get your name."

"My name? It's Eyktan. It means warrior." He explained, still sounding a little on edge.

"Eyktan," I repeated his name, slowly, getting used to it.

"That's right," he purred, at my apparently good pronunciation. "The tribe's deputy."

"Xena's son?" I queried, feeling a new awe – almost fear – toward the man who had saved me today.

"Adopted by Xena," Eyktan corrected, placing one hand over his heart. "My mother died in the battle for Felle, as did Xena's son. She was the only fit person to adopt me, since she'd had a child recently. So she did." Eyktan begun to move slowly through the camp site, me following closely. "It was this act that united the two tribes of Felle."

"Wow," I gasped. "I see. I'm sorry about your mother." Ekytan shook his head, as if he didn't really want to think about it. "I lost my mother recently too."

"So I heard," Eyktan looked into my eyes, sadly. "I never knew her, but Xena always spoke of her often." He breached slightly. "That's why we were so welcoming of you and Felix. We aren't usually soft. We don't normally appreciate strangers, especially from the outside world."

'Outside world'. The way he said it, as if it was a dirty place, irritated me.

"It's not so bad," I growled.

"Pfft," Eyktan scoffed. "People from the outside world don't generally last five minutes out here, lab girl. And that would include you."

I frowned, insulted slightly. He saw this, and turned to walk away, a chuckle escaping his throat. But my scowl soon turned into a smile. I jumped in front of him, blocking his path, and growled, "Do I hear a challenge in those words?"

This time, Eyktan openly laughed, his face creasing up, "You have spirit lab girl, I'm impressed. But you almost drowned today and that is proof enough that you don't know anything about this lifestyle, and therefore would never survive."

"And I suppose you do?" I looked him right in the eye. I knew something of leaders, and I knew that if he continued with an attitude like this, he'd end up a rather bad one.

"Lab girl, I am the adopted son of Xena," Eyktan growled. "I'll run this clan when she passes on. Of course I know enough to survive."

"Teach me then," I smirked.

"Teach you? Well..." For a moment Eyktan looked thoughtful. Then he shook his head. "Look, I'm busy most of the time, I... I can't."

"Sure you can," I retorted. "I can learn a lot by observing. C'mon you won't even know I'm there." He gave me a look through narrowed eyes. "Seriously. Try me!"

"Alright fine," he sighed. "But you have to be here, every day, at sunrise. That's when I leave. Are you staying around long today?"

I smiled, victoriously, "I'm not sure. Why?"

"Because Summer is dancing tonight," Eyktan stated. At my confused expression, he rolled his eyes and explained, "Females dance as part of celebrations. In this case, we are celebrating the return of yourself and Felix. It made sense for her to dance, after all she is Felix's mate. There will be a feast."

"Oh," I murmured, looking down. "Would I be welcome?"

"Of course you'd be welcome, dumbass," Eyktan growled. "The ceremony is practically for you. Tell you what, it can be the first part of your training. You'll learn some culture, and you can make friends with some of the other women around. It will do you good."

And I found myself agreeing.


	8. Chapter 7

**So I was gonna do the whole Summer dancing thing in the previous chapter, but then I felt that a) the previous chapter was getting too long and b) this chapter would not be long enough. Turns out this chapter is plenty long enough, haha. **

**FACT: Kat is the first ranger to wear orange in reality (Boom did dream it one). Despite this, it's debated among fans whether she is a white ranger, or an orange ranger. Hmm. What are your thoughts? White or orange? **

There was an air of expectancy around the camp fire. I with the women and listened to their conversation:

"This is going to be good!"

"It's been a while since we had someone dancing."

"Summer used to be amazing."

"Look there she is!"

All attention was turned towards the fire, and I gasped; Summer looked beautiful, having braided her hair back into tight plaits, her face and arms decorated with patterns.

The music – made up mostly of traditional tribe instruments and the women singing – started, and Summer begun to move. She danced around the fire, slow, graceful movements of the hips – which I imagined would have been rather alluring to the males, especially given what she was wearing. I found myself wishing Felix could have been here to see it. It was so graceful! She used smooth flowing movements of the arms, legs and her body, and came close to the fire, so that it's burnt amber light cast her shadows against the rocks and trees that surrounded us, and illuminated her features.

I watched her, transfixed by her performance and hypnotised by the music. Something about the performance just took my breath away. I would definitely be telling my uncle about this.

"She's a good dancer don't you think?" Eyktan's voice startled me, and I jumped.

"Yea," I whispered.

"This marks the start of your training lab girl," he chuckled. "Be ready."

I was ready.

I trained with Eyktan every day for the next couple of weeks.

Sometimes it was simple things, like learning the native language. That was a pain in the ass, but eventually I picked up the basic grammar of it, and when I did, it begun to feel natural. Like an old part of me that had been reawakened. I wondered how Kat had ever learnt English after knowing such a beautiful, different language. Ekytan saw this and was pleased.

The development of language meant I could begin interacting more with the other women in the tribe, like Summer and Jeopardy. I made many more friends, and we begun to chat on a regular basis. They told me a lot about what it had traditionally been like to be a woman in the tribe on Felle, and what it was like now. Some stories were fascinating, but others made me feel sick to the core. Thankfully now, they treat their people a lot better. Kits were thriving and getting stronger.

This very fact was duly noted, as I begun to get to know Jeopardy and Bracken's kits. Their names were, and I would play with them occasionally. I suppose I was developing something of a maternal instinct, and I begun to consider if I would ever like kits of my own.

Ekytan also taught me how to find food. This started with theory, about which foods that grew on plants were safe, and which were not, and developed into him teaching me how to harvest these foods safely and effectively. He told me we should only ever take what we need, because otherwise overhunting could cause food to become scarce. He taught me how to safely use a bow and arrow, how to aim and shoot accurately. The tribe need meat too, and often killed rabbit or deer to feed themselves. Normally though, they would save this for a special occasion or when they were all hungry, because again, they wanted to avoid over hunting.

I was already a dab hand at fighting, because of my prior training on SPD, however my fighting skills and Eyktans fighting skills were extremely different. I had to learn the traditional, animal based fighting style of the tribe, but also, in some cases, we reversed the roles and I taught him the more advanced skills of SPD officers. He said that those skills would be of value to the tribe, and that they would get passed on. I felt proud about that.

That was how it went for two weeks. Same schedules, same routines.

But one day, something was different. Eyktan called me over, whilst I was chatting to Jeopardy.

"I, erm," he asked awkwardly. "I was wondering if I might take you somewhere?"

"Sure," I smiled warmly. I'd come to like Eyktan, despite his original attitude, which had begun to melt away recently. With a nod to Jeopardy, I followed my mentor.

He led me in silence through the forest, to a dense area where I'd never been before, until we came to a thick bush. We stopped, and Eyktan prompted me, "Close your eyes."

Warily, I closed my eyes, and let him place a hand on my shoulder to lead me through the bush. When I opened them, I gasped. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Flowers of varying shapes, sizes and colours grew around me, and the sun shone down clear and bright.

"Eyktan it's... it's beautiful..." I gasped.

"It's where we harvest most of our healing herbs from," Eyktan explained, a grin on his face. "The location of the herb garden is pretty much kept a secret, only leaders, deputies and healers know where it is... but I thought I would show you. I thought you would like it."

"I love it!" I exclaimed. I couldn't get my head around how dazzling it was... if there was a centre of mother nature, this was definitely it. I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed, and I looked up at Eyktan, a smile on my face. "Thank you so much for bringing me here!"

Eyktan did not say anything. Instead he looked down at me, quietly, smiling. There was an emotion there in his eyes, that I was not familiar with, and it gave me butterflies in my stomach. I studied it closely. Slowly, gently, Eyktan reached out to stroke my hair... and he was leaning in to me, closer, closer...

Then his soft, warm lips were on mine, and I was filled with the most amazing feeling. I kissed him back, gently, and we gradually got more and more passionate; it felt as if we were the only two people in the universe. I wanted to be with him, close to him, and only him.

Then, there was a beep.

I pulled away from him, being dragged back down into a sullen reality. It was a sound both me and Eyktan were all too familiar with. My watch was going off. It was time for me to return to SPD.

"I wish you could stay," Eyktan purred, nuzzling me.

"So do I," I sighed, leaning into him. "But I can't. The boss will kill me if I'm not back before dark."

Actually that was not entirely true. Cruger never really commented on my absence, but then he had greater things to focus on. He was still having a hard time getting over Kat, and spent as much time in the infirmary with Little Katherine. Speaking of Little Katherine, she was growing by the day. Dr Felix was confident that if she continued at this rate, she's be out of the infirmary within another two weeks. This pleased all of us. I guess that must have taken Cruger's mind off of me and what I was doing.

The same could not be said for my sister. I could tell Zelda wasn't happy about my barely ever being around, but I couldn't pinpoint whether she genuinely didn't like me going, or whether she felt bad because she was losing me. I felt sad for her, she was my sister and I wanted her to be happy. But the truth was, now that I knew what was really out there, I was unhappy in the restrictions of the base.

And after Zelda was allocated to take over Kat's old job, after a vigorous interview process (which was overseen greatly by Birdie may I add), I was left the only one without a proper allocated job. I contemplated this as I made my way back to the Earth station. That night was when I knew. There was no longer a place for me in SPD. I knew what I had to do.


	9. Chapter 8

**[A/N] I have been so stuck on this chapter! It's taken a lot of effort to come up with this, so it's probably not the best chapter… although it's quite long so I hope that makes up for things (including my lack of updates lately)**

**I don't have a fact for this chapter! Sorry I will try and find one for my next chapter =D **

"You want to be a part of the tribe?" Xena looked up from where she was sat sharpening her weapons.

Shakily, I nodded once. Xena, looked me up and down, and I thought I saw a flicker of bemusement in her eyes. For a moment, I put myself in her shoes and imagined how strange my lab clothes must look to her, and how much of a contrast I was to my surroundings. I didn't exactly look like tribe material.

"Have you told your family about this?"

"No," I sighed. "But if you accept me, I will tell them. I would never just abandon them."

More silence.

"How do I know if you've got the right stuff?" Xena lowered her head and begun to scrape her sharpening tool up and down a spear.

"I don't know," I whispered. Xena said nothing. "I've been learning a lot about the tribe over the last month. I've been on hunts and runs, I've picked up on a fair amount of the language. I've been getting to know the rest of the women... Summer, Jeapordy, ... Eyktan has been particularly welcoming." I decided not to mention the kiss we had shared out training one day.

"Eyktan?" Xena interrupted me, looking up sharply.

"Yes," I confirmed. "Eyktan."

The wise leader studied me carefully, and I returned her gaze calmly. I noticed for the first time how creased her forehead was, marked with concerns for her people, some ancient and passed, some recent. My aunt was not getting any younger, of course she didn't want to do anything that would create a burden on the tribe.

Slowly, she stood up, and growled, "Follow me." She strode out into the camp, across the camp, out of the camp, and we eventually reached a thick, forested area. It was then that Xena turned on me.

"Do you realise what you're asking for?" She snarled. "This isn't like just moving house. You would be coming into a harsh, harsh environment."

"I know, but –" I responded, desperately

"But WHAT?" Xena snapped. "You think it would be easy? You think the tribe's life is always like…" she guestured around "… like this? What about when the snow falls? Won't you miss your warm bed, secure lab walls?"

"I…" I didn't even know what to say.

"Kits DIE out here, Soara!" Xena spoke in a deliberately low voice, looking me dead in the eyes. "When it gets cold, when we can't find food, when people get ill… it's a harsh world out here. If you got sick… your brother wouldn't be here to heal you."

To this day, I still can't work out if Xena was purposefully trying to wind me up. To test my strength, to make me want to fight her… but regardless of her plans, that was what happened. Something inside me just snapped.

"I am no weaker than the rest of you!" I yowled, leaping forwards a few paces to shout in her face.

"Are you sure about that, little one?" Xena towered over me, looking down her nose at me.

I glared back up at her, my muscles tightening below my skin. She had aggravated me to the point where I wanted to fight her. Our species are violent by nature, and Xena was awakening every instinct in my body.

I sized up my opponent for a fraction of a second; she was taller than me, more heavily built, thick with muscle and strong. She also had weapons: a bow and arrow, whereas I was completely unarmed. Xena's green eyes showed a gleam of challenge, but also of experience. I knew, if I attacked this woman, if only one person would come out of this, it would be her.

But that didn't change a thing.

With a grunt of anger, I leapt into her, using all my weight to push her backwards. I felt Xena rotate backwards under me, falling towards the floor, but then her legs rose up and thrust into my stomach, sending me hurtling over her head. I landed on my stomach, grazing the underside of my arms.

I glared up at her. Xena didn't hesitate, and ran towards me. I sprung to my feet, and held out my arms towards her, grasping her shoulders. We wrestled like this for a while, my nails digging into her bare shoulders, both of us growling and snarling. She pulled back her arm, raising a hand to strike me. I ducked down and dodged her blow, taking the opportunity to kick her shins. Her balance faltered for a brief second, but she managed to avoid falling on her feet, instead backflipping over and escaping me, managing to catch my jaw with her boot in the process.

I growled with anger, and pounced forwards, landing squarely on her upper body, pushing her into the ground. Xena let out a brief cry of frustration, and I relented slightly. Quick as a fox, Xena slipped from my grasp. As she moved, I saw a flash of silver, tainted red. Without hesitation, I grabbed for the hilt, and the dagger came loose in my hands.

Xena hissed when she saw me with it, and rushed to snatch it back, but I leapt out of the way, and slashed a wound into her upper arm. She yowled and fell to a crouch, facing me, her hand trying to stem the bloodflow.

As her eyes met mine, I snapped back into reality. I dropped the dagger as if it were red hot, and fell to my knees, gasping with disbelief, "Xena, I … I'm so sorry… I didn't mean…"

Xena struggled to her feet, spat, and wiped a speck of blood from her lips, "It's okay Soara." She offered me a hand. "Get up."

I took it, warily, and looked at her, expecting banishment. But instead, Xena begun to chuckle.

"You have spirit, Soara," she grinned. "And you definitely have every instinct of our species in your blood, though they've been dormant a while, it would seem your time with us has reawakened them… Tell me, would you use those same skills to defend me, rather than attack me?"

Hardly believing my ears, I nodded enthusiastically.

"What about the youngsters of our tribe? Or any of your fellow warriors?" Xena questioned, beginning to circle me.

"I would defend anyone from your tribe, until death," I muttered.

A rustling in the nearby grass seemed to catch Xena's attention.

"A deer," I commented, softly. Xena looked at me, surprised. She then took off her bow and arrow, and handed it to me.

"Why don't you catch it?" She asked.

I looked doubtfully at the weapons. I'd made kills before, with Eyktan, but only small ones. Nothing like deer. But after attacking Xena like that, I couldn't very well refuse her. Instead, I dropped to a crouch and crept through the grass. As I spied the prey, I placed the arrow into the bow, and drew it backwards… making a swift and accurate shot.

"Nice," Xena commented. "Hunting is clearly a strength of yours. The tribe shall feast today."

I turned my head, to see that Xena was looking at me through thoughtful, narrowed eyes. "You have seen the tribe women dance before?"

I thought back to the time when I'd seen Summer dance, a display of her happiness that Felix was alive, and nodded.

"It's an ancient tradition, dating back from the very first tribes on Felle," Xena explained. "Women of the tribe take it in turn to dance before the whole tribe. It's a way of honouring our ancestors, but more than that, it's an art, a way of expression, a way of entertaining and pleasing the tribe. Girls dance for the first time when they come of age and are accepted into the tribe as women. Many men fall in love with women as they dance, and therefore find their mates."

"Did my mother dance?" I asked, quietly.

"Oh yes!" Xena smiled. "She danced more than most. My father made Kat dance a lot. I danced often, too. Me and your mother would, on the odd occasion, dance together. As sisters. We were the best of our time."

I nodded. It truly was fascinating, and I loved how, even though they'd had to move planet, Xena still honoured the traditions. It was inspiring, but I was unprepared for what Xena would say next:

"You want to be a part of the tribe? Then tonight... Tonight, Soara, you shall dance!"

I think I must have looked pretty gobsmacked.

"Wait… what?" I whispered.

"You will enjoy it once you get out there," Xena assured me. "Your first dance is like a right of passage. It's when you truly become a woman. Most women find their mates by dancing."

"I'm not pretty enough," I growled softly.

"Nonsense," Xena snorted. "You're perfect. Just right. Come. Bring your kill; then I can prepare you for the evening."

_**X-X-X-X-X**_

My face twitched as soft brushes tickled my skin. Xena had been working on me for some time since we got back to camp. I was dressed from head to toe in traditional clan finery.

I shivered, goosebumps pricking my skin, as Xena spoke softly to me in our native language, telling me of my beauty and how much I was like my mother. She told me stories about my mother, of her three children, of how she was born outside the camp and eventually found her way back, how she once helped the tribe's healer to heal the tribe of a horrific illness.

She continued to paint complex patterns onto my skin, having moved from my face to my wrists and now to my hands. Suddenly she stopped. "You are ready."

I dared to peek out of the cave. The sun was setting, casting a crimson glow over the forest.

Suddenly, my heart rate picked up. I was nervous. Then I felt a warmth engulf me, as Xena wrapped her arms around me.

"You'll do just fine," she reassured me.

I had to wait until the exact moment when the sun disappeared over the horizon.

It was then that I stepped out of Xena's cave, to the fire. It's flames warmed my exposed stomach and legs, and I soon found the rhythm of the tribal music.

I danced for at least an hour, as the tribe eat together. I only stopped once they were all sleepy from fullness. I noticed Eyktan giving me a proud look from one corner.

As I stepped down from the platform, I was greeted by Xena.

"Welcome to our tribe."

_**X-X-X-X**_

"Zelda, I need to talk to you," I ran into the lab.

Zelda looked up at me, clearly concerned.

I took a deep breath, and prepared for what I was about to say, "I want to leave SPD."

A range of emotions passed over my sister's face: despair, hurt, confusion... "Why?" She finally asked.

So I told her my story. I told her how I'd been getting to know the tribe, how I could now speak in their language, and how I'd learned to hunt and fight alongside them. Last of all, I told her about Eyktan, and how I was in love with him. I told her how he would be the next tribe leader, and so he couldn't leave his tribe. If I wanted to be with him, I had to join the tribe. I told her how Xena had tested me, and eventually accepted me.

Zelda nodded, slowly, her gaze fixed firmly on the floor.

"Are you certain about this?" She whispered, not looking at me.

"I'm sorry, Zelda," I replied. "I have to do what's best for me."

She nodded. She understood.


	10. Chapter 9

**[A/N] I own nothing, apart from my OCs. Last 'chapter'. I think that's a good thing though to be perfectly honest!**

"Donate. Throw. Donate. Ugh – definitely throw that away! Nobody's ever going to want that. Ever." I mumbled through the words in a monotonous voice as Zelda presented my old clothes to me, one item at a time.

"Are you really sure that you want to get rid of everything, Soara?" Zelda asked me dubiously. "What if you change your mind and want to come back?"

I sighed, and closed my eyes. I was sure that I wouldn't be changing my mind, but this wasn't something that Zelda appeared to understand. Personally, I was of the mind that she was in denial somewhat.

"Zelda, I'm sure," I whispered. "I will have no use for my material possessions in the forests."

Zelda looked away, wordlessly, and carried on sorting my things. I watched her, feeling full of sympathy. I'd always been around her, and now I was leaving – so suddenly too, since I had decided no time was to be wasted: I would leave this afternoon.

Zelda was sad of course, but she didn't show it; she was trying to be strong. To this day, I can't quite work out if this was to stop me from feeling guilty, or because she wanted to show me she felt happy for me.

Midday came and went, and then it was time. I think Zelda sensed it too, as she turned to look at me.

I stood up from my position.

"My tribe is expecting me," I said, quietly.

Zelda nodded, and looked down, and whispered, "Good bye."

"Good bye, sister," I whispered back. "We will see each other again soon."

"Of course we will," Zelda smiled. "I love you Soara. I couldn't have asked for a better sister."

"I'll miss you," I murmered.

Zelda nodded. Then she suddenly looked up, "Well, run along now. You should say goodbye to Cruger on your way out."

"You aren't coming with me?"

"No," she smiled, sadly. "I don't like goodbyes." I returned the sad smile. Just like Kat in every way. Kat never liked goodbyes either, and never liked to show emotion. The same as Zelda.

But I respected her wishes.

Then there was Cruger. As I approached his desk, he had his chair turned, so that his back was to me. This was nothing new. These days, Cruger did not like to look directly at anyone – especially not his illegitimate, secret daughters.

"Sir," I begun shakily. "I am leaving now, sir. I'm going to live with the tribe, as I told you."

He said nothing. I sighed, and turned to walk away.

"Soara…" Cruger rumbled suddenly, swinging round in his chair. "There's something I want you to have."

"Sir?" I asked, curiously, tilting my head on one side.

"You look so much like your mother…" he mused, softly. For a moment there was silence. Then he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a tiny object. "Here." He held it out to me. The metal gleamed golden in the light. "Be careful with it."

I stepped forward, and took the rectangular object from his hands. As I ran my finger over the cold, hard surface and the engraving on it, a tear threatened to fall from my eyes: "_Dr Katherine Manx – Lead Scientist"_.

"Thank you, sir." I said. "Rest assured, it shall stay with me, always."

The big blue dog nodded one, then cocked his head on one side and asked, "Will you be visiting your mother before you leave?"

"I couldn't bear to leave without doing so," I whispered.

My commander – my supposed father – growled in understanding, and said for the last time: "Dismissed, Miss Manx."

I made my way slowly down the corridor, taking in the sights, sounds, smells… for what would undoubtedly be the last time. I ran my hands over the white walls, and observed as cadets saluted me as I walked by. I certainly wouldn't be missing the harsh, white lighting. I took the long way out of the base: round the command wing corridors, down some stairs and through A and B wings. Sky had long since left for a higher position within SPD, with Syd by his side as a wife, while Z and Bridge had resigned together for a family life. But B wing still reminded me of them, and of playing with them as a young child.

I took the escalators down to departure, listening to the hustle bustle of passengers and shuttle noises. Then I looped round and passed through the lobby. As I exited the large, sliding doors, I breathed in deeply, and took in every detail of the proud water feature out front. Then, without lingering too long, I made my way into the SPD Resting Grounds.

As I turned the corner, I saw it. Her tomb. She'd been buried in the same graveyard as the many cadets and rangers that died in service. Except she was isolated, atop a small hill which oversaw the rest of the graveyard, under the shade of a young blossom tree. It was the perfect spot – exactly the place I think she would have liked to be buried.

"Hello Kat," I meowed as I approached the gravestone. "Mother…" a lump formed in my throat and I had to swallow it. "I'm leaving SPD. I have no other choice, and my leave is not without reason. I've fallen in love!" I paused for a moment, kneeling down next to the tombstone, so that I might be able to speak with more discrepancy. "Why didn't you tell me we had relatives, alive? Felix took me to them and… there's nothing like their life. It's truly enchanting, nothing like what you remember. They don't perform all the horrifying acts you remember, not anymore, not now that Xena is in charge. And I've found a mate out there… his name is Eyktan." More silence passed, but I noticed the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. "I know you are with me Dr Katherine Manx," a light breeze ruffled my curls, and I closed my eyes to relish it, "I love you. I'm proud of everything you did – you're a truly noble woman. I will never forget you."

"Are you ready?" A voice behind me, and a hand on my shoulder shook me from my thoughts, and I turned to look my uncle in the eye. It occurred to me – for the first time – that I was almost as tall as him now. I no longer had to stare up at him with wide, childlike eyes, but I could meet his gaze as an adult.

I said nothing. I just nodded.

I allowed Felix to walk me to the edge of the forest; after all, if it weren't for him introducing me to them, I would never have found my place in the world. We did not speak. Not as we left the earthstation grounds and Kat's grave, nor as we walked through town. No words left our lips as we crossed the fields, and there were certainly none spoken as we approached the grand forest. We didn't even speak as I nodded goodbye and smiled. There was no need for words.

With that, I turned away, sprung over the fence and begun to follow the track without ever once looking behind.

I still felt Felix's gaze on my back, long after I disappeared into the trees.

**FIN. **


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

Everyone stood in a ring in the clearing. The whole of the tribe was there, from the eldest elder, to the tiniest kit. In the middle blazed a fire, and the facial paints and skin dyes lay ready. Everyone was excited for what was about to happen.

From a gap on one side of the circle, two shadows, side by side, emerged, guided by an elder of the tribe. The woman wore clan finery: a grey-blue silk skirt and veil, both of which were embroided with shining beads and shining patterns. Her cotton bra-like top kept her modest, whilst showing off her flat stomach (painted with exquisite patterns) and hips, whereas her arms and face were pattern-free. Contrastingly, the man wore plain, brown, traditional leather warriors clothes. Such clothes would normally only be seen on a man preparing for battle.

The two strode forwards proudly, and knelt before the burning fire, their heads bowed.

Another couple approached them then, from the opposite side of the circle. They wore similar clothing, however the male carried an ancient, but nonetheless powerful sword, and the woman donned fantastic bangles and a bold necklace.

"I, Xena, of the United Felina Tribe from Felle, speak before and with the approval of our ancestors, whose wisdom guides us, and messengers advise us," the woman's voice rang out across the clearing. "The tribe has been called, and now every member, from the youngest child, to the oldest warrior, shall hear what I have to say." There was an expectant silence. "I have proudly served this tribe as leader for many years. Through the battle of Felle, we remained strong. We may have lost our planet, but we found a new home, and we have thrived. Now, I reach the end of my years. A new, better suited generation have risen beneath me, and I hereby renounce my position as tribe leader."

The man, known to the tribe as Thunder, drew his sword from the scabbard and his voice boomed, "Eyktan. Adopted son of Xena, previous leader of the tribe. Rise!" Eyktan, the young man bowed before the tribe, stood slowly, and looked into the face of the man he'd called father for all these years. "You have shown yourself to be strong, both in the body and mind, and a patient, wise teacher, capable of winning the hearts of anyone, should you put your mind to it. I am certain that you shall make a fine tribe leader, alongside your chosen wife."

Thunder lowered his sword, and placed it back into his scabbard. Members of all ages leant forward in anticipation, as he removed the scabbard, and moved forward to attach it to the belt of Eyktan.

"This sword has been passed down many generations. It was mine, and before that it was Scrouge's. Now, it is yours." Next, Thunder leant down, and picked up one colour of dye. He begun to paint Eyktan's wrists, and chest. "I mark you with the signs of leadership. Our ancestors will recognise you as such. May your leadership bring your tribe prosperity, peace and success."

"Eyktan," Xena spoke again. "Please present your chosen suitor."

"Xena, well respected former leader of my tribe," Eyktan spoke now for the first time. "May I present to you my choice in mate: Soara, daughter of the late Katherine," Soara now rose to her feet. Her brunette curls flowed slightly from the movement of the smoke from the fire.

"Eyktan, do you understand that Soara will be your assistor in running this tribe, for the rest of your lives, and that she too will hold responsibility for your people?"

"I understand this, Xena."

"She shall be your partner for as long as you both shall live, and the one to provide you with an heir to the leadership of this tribe. You are aware of this?"

"I am," Eyktan growled. "I love Soara. I have every confidence in her abilities to perform all of the duties you have mentioned."

Xena seemed satisfied with this response, for she nodded, and stepped close to the shorter, less muscular young woman. She uttered a few words to the new warrior princess, and painted marks on her arms and neck. Xena then stepped back, to remove her own bangles and necklace, and pass them on to Soara.

"Congratulations, Eyktan and Soara," Thunder purred. "You are the new leaders of this tribe. Tonight, you may commit to each other, and thus to the tribe, by making love for the first time." Xena smirked at the way Soara flushed, and glanced up at Eyktan. "Serve the tribe well, and never forget your ancestors."

Xena and Thunder retreated to the edge of the circle, to stand with the other warriors of the tribe. It was only then that the silence was broken, and the warriors lifted their heads, yowling their approval and praise to the skies.

**X-X-X-X-X-X**

"That was a great ceremony, Soara," Zelda purred, dipping her head formally to the new tribe leader. "Congratulations."

"What's with all the formalities?" Soara chuckled. "You're still my sister!" She pulled Zelda in for a firm embrace. "You still working in the lab?"

"Yes, and I intend to be for the rest of my life," Zelda replied with a confident smile. "You've found your place in the world, but that lab is my place. I wish to carry on our mothers work."

It was at that point that Mitchell strode up. He was far, far taller than both Soara and Zelda now.

"Good evening, sir," Soara smiled up at him. She automatically moved to salute, but stopped herself. SPD was behind her now.

"Oh, so now who's doing formalities?" Zelda shoved Soara slightly.

"Well that's different," Soara protested. "I think it's only polite to show respect to the Commander of SPD Earth."

"Well I think it's polite to show respect to the leader of the tribe," Zelda replied, smugly.

"But you're my sister." Soara growled.

"And I'm your brother, what's the difference?" Mitchell shrugged. "Just cos I'm commander now. Jeez."

Soara and Zelda looked at him stunned, for Mitchell had never before called either of them his siblings. He had refused to accept it.

"What did you say?" Soara gasped.

"I said I'm your brother," Mitchell shrugged. At that point Soara attacked Mitchell with a bear hug, and Zelda was quick to join in.

"Commander Cruger! Dr Manx! We're leaving!" The voice of Little Katherine rang out across the clearing, interrupting the moment. "Daddy has already gone to the car!"

Zelda and Mitchell turned their heads.

"Oh yes, indeed he has," Zelda muttered, raising one eyebrow in a manner which Soara found eerily similar to Kat.

"Well, I guess that's our call to go then," Mitchell chuckled, giving Soara a quick hug. "Congratulations, sis."

"Thanks bro," Soara acknowledged. "I'll be seeing you again some time?"

"Definitely. It's on mine and Zelda's work schedule that we get time off specifically to visit you." Mitchell winked. "I'll give you two girls a moment."

Soara looked at Zelda. Her eyes were filling with tears.

"Goodbyes are always hard," Zelda whispered.

"I know," Soara replied, hugging her sister. "But we will see each other again soon. Within less than a month. It'll fly by. Besides, I'll always be with you," Soara placed one hand over Zelda's heart and said, "right here."

Zelda begun to sob, and hugged her sister tight, "I love you."

"I love you too." Soara replied. "Kat would be proud of both of us."

"I suppose she's with us too?" Zelda sniffed, wiping her eyes on the cuff of her lab coat.

"Of course," Soara smiled, softly, sadly. "Don't you see Zelda? The cycle is complete."

Zelda narrowed her eyes and looked at Soara thoughtfully. But Soara just smiled. She knew it wasn't something her sister would ever understand. It was true though, Kat's two daughters, taking her place in more ways than one: her eldest would carry on her work in the lab, with the other carrying on her bloodline in the tribe from which she came. Yes, Kat Manx's legacy would truly live on, in every aspect of her life.

"Dr Manx! Dr Manx! Come ON!" Little Katherine called again.

"I'll see you real soon," Zelda promised at last, before turning away and running up to Little Katherine. She turned and waved one last time, before heading off to the car.

Soara sighed and hung her head. Suddenly she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned round and found herself being held in the arms of Eyktan. And there she would stay, until she found the strength to go back and address her new tribe.

**[A/N] So, that's the end! Or at least, it's the end as far as this series goes. I will still be posting SPD fics (I have a few ideas sitting on the backburner), but not regularly. I'm currently focused on my GCSEs, and then my A-Levels, as of September. And they'll be more like one-shots, probably focused on the original canon characters of SPD – I haven't decided yet if Kat's children will be cropping up in any more of my fics. If anyone does want to use any of my five original characters though (Mitchell, Rachel, Zelda, Soara, Little Kat) send me a PM, and I will probably say yes. I don't expect anyone does want to use them but it was worth saying. ANYWAY, thank you to everyone who read all of these. It means a lot that these stories I invented when I was 9 or something, are now being read by other people. Thank you :')**


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